That means tens of millions of obese or alcoholic Americans – and those with other kinds of liver disease – are at risk if they continuing using acid blockers without a doctor’s approval.

Schnabl’s research was published October 10 in Nature Communications.

He and his UC San Diego colleagues found that the absence of gastric acid promotes the growth of a certain bacteria in the stomach. That bacteria moves to the liver, where it worsens the inflammation associated with a chronic liver disease.